Drew Estate – IPCPR 2017

Drew Estate managed to hold off from any major announcements (seen from most other brands of similar size) until the last moment, unveiling their plans for IPCPR 2017 mere days before the show opened. And while there were many updates, the biggest changes can be boiled down to two cigars: Undercrown Sun Grown and Pappy Van Winkle “TRADITION”.

As for their show presence, Drew Estate was about due for an update, with their Manhattan Bridge being used for the past three years. In its replacement was a large replica of a New York water tower, being coated in colorful graffiti (which the brand has become known over the years) and serving as a central hub for the booth—with Jonathan Drew’s new John Drew Brands liquor being served from beneath the tower. While the water tower design was nearly as tall as the bridge design, it was dramatically shorter in length, providing much more space for Drew Estate and the many brands they distribute—making for a much more open layout that felt like a big improvement.

Also of note was the absence of company president (and co-founder) Jonathan Drew, with national sales manager Fabien Ziegler taking his place for live-streaming interviews.

Drew Estate Tins

Drew Estate streamlined a large portion of their collection of cigar brands, offering 15 brands in 4″ x 32 petit sizes. Most notably, this collection includes some of Drew Estate’s most premium blends, such as Liga Privada No. 9, Liga Privada T52, Herrera Estelí, and Herrera Estelí Norteño. This concept was hinted at with last year’s introduction of tins for the Undercrown and Undercrown Shade cigars, and has now been expanded to nearly every Drew Estate cigar. And while the latest addition to the Undercrown line (Undercrown Sun Grown) was not shown in this new size, Drew Estate plans to add this cigar to the tin-size lineup in November, 2017. Also of note was the lack of a petit-sized Nica Rustica offering. These new sizes have been confirmed to incorporate short filler tobaccos—a practice that had previously only been seen on the Liga Privada Papas Fritas blend.

The new tin packaging helped form the overall theme for Drew Estate’s booth, with the tins being held in eye-catching displays modeled after New York water towers. The 6-foot towers are capable of holding 27 sleeves of cigar tins for upgraded retailer displays, and there are other new countertop displays as well, which hold nine sleeves of 4×32 tins.

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Florida Sun Grown “FSG”

Florida Sun Grown was announced in May of 2016, made as an exclusive collaboration between Drew Estate and Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of Corona Cigar Company. The FSG line consisted of four cigars (plus a 5th, limited edition blend), blended around Borysiewicz’s unique project of Florida-grown tobaccos.

FSG was originally sold only through Borysiewicz’s Corona Cigar retail locations (and online store), but will now be available nationwide, offered to Drew Diplomat Retailers. All of the original sizes, including the Limited Edition Box-Press Toro, will now be available in a much more wide-scale release.

Pappy Van Winkle Tradition

Pappy Van Winkle “Tradition” cigars were another release on display at Drew Estate’s IPCPR 2016 booth, but the details and final packaging had yet to be hammered out; therefore it was asked that the images be blurred until the cigars were ready for an official launch. This, as with many other companies in 2016, was most likely an effort to introduce the cigars before the FDA deadline of August 8, 2016.

The cigars are now ready for an official launch this fall, which has been slated for October in an attempt to align with the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery’s annual Pappy Van Winkle bourbon release. Unlike the original Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented cigars, the new “Tradition” blend will be sold to Drew Diplomat Retailers across the country. Also unlike the original Pappy cigars, “Tradition” utilizes a more traditional-style premium cigar blend (sans barrel fermentation, etc.).

Undercrown Sun Grown

Drew Estate’s biggest and most anticipated release was Undercrown Sun Grown. This is another blend that saw a small shipment of pre-release blends hit the market, but IPCPR marked the first official display of Undercrown Sun Grown cigars. The blend focuses on the Sumatra-seed, sun-grown wrapper, which is wrapped over the same leaf used for Liga Privada T52 (wrapper) but incorporated as the binder, and the blend is finished by an all-Nicaraguan filler. This filler includes a special, aged ligero leaf from the Nueva Segovia region and is said to impart a kick of strength and sweetness. Drew Estate mentioned they would receive a shipment of Undercrown Sun Grown from Nicaragua a week after the trade show, with the official launch slated for August. This will then be followed by an additional 4″ x 32 petit/tin size in November.

Drew Estate Natural is now named “Larutan” which is simply the reverse of the original name. This was reportedly due to licensing issues outside the US.

The Drew Estate booth has long featured custom-painted swag from Subculture Studios, the art studio within Drew Estate’s Nicaraguan factory. For 2017, miniature skateboards were painted for a wide variety of Drew Estate (and Drew Estate distributed) cigar brands. These are typically given to large Drew Estate accounts, etc.

About The Author

I am the managing editor at Cigar Dojo, making sure all cigar reviews and articles meet the Dojo standards. Aside from my 3 major passions (premium cigars, craft beer, and Kentucky Straight Bourbon), I enjoy photography/videography and film editing, as well as playing ice hockey and spending time with my family—which currently includes one Great Dane, one baby boy, and one amazing wife.

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